THE 


iKlissibe  of  Justus  jFalcfener, 


OF   GERMANTOWN, 


CONCERNING  THE    RELIGIOUS    CONDITION 
OF  PENNSYLVANIA  IN  THE  YEAR   1701. 


TRANSLATED  BY 

JULIUS   FRIEDRICH   SACHSE, 

LIFE  MEMBER    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    OF    PENNSYLVANIA  ;    MEMBER    AMERICAN 

PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  j    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 

SOCIETY,   ETC. 


Reprinted  from  the  "Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography ' '  for  July,  1 8gy . 


PHILADELPHIA, 
1897. 


f 


FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D, 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Division 


Sectloi 


■> 


>N 


/^ 


Tit.  $erm 


DMrnxMn^itn/ 


2I«^  ®ertttatteott  /  in  Ht  ^mttU 

CanifdDen  Province Penrylvama.fOnft  No- 
va succia,  tmetften  Augufti,  im3*i^t 

©en  3ttff^tt^  ^^>^  ^ircgen 

in  gimertca  befreffetiD^ 

TITLE-PAGE    OF    FALCKNER'S    MISSIVE   TO    GERMANY,    1701. 


MAR  24  1932 
THE  X:^<'C'C«L  %^'^'^ 


OF   GERMANTOWN, 


CONCERNING  THE    RELIGIOUS    CONDITION 
OF  PENNSYLVANIA  IN  THE  YEAR   1701. 


TRANSLATED  BY      . 

JULIUS   FRIEDRICH   SACHSE, 

LIFE  MEMBER    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    OF    PENNSYLVANIA  j    MEMBER    AMERICAN 

PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  j    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 

SOCIETY,   ETC. 


Reprinted  from  the  "Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography "  for  July,  1 8gy , 


PHILADELPHIA 
1897. 


Printed  by  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia. 


THE 


MISSIVE  OF  JUSTUS   FALCKNER. 


Justus  Falckner,  writer  of  the  following  missive,  and  a 
member  of  the  community  of  German  Pietists  who  settled 
on  the  Wissahickon  in  1694,  under  the  leadership  of 
Johannes  Kelpius,  was  a  native  of  Saxony ;  born  November 
22,  1672,  at  Langenreinsdorf.  He  studied  under  Thomasius 
and  the  elder  Francke  at  Ilalle.  While  yet  in  his  diaconate, 
he  accompanied  his  brother  Daniel,  upon  the  latter's  return 
to  America  in  the  year  1700.  After  living  in  seclusion  on 
the  romantic  banks  of  the  Wissahickon,  to  perfect  himself 
in  the  esoteric  teachings  of  the  brotherhood,  he  re-entered 
the  world,  as  it  were,  and  on  Xovember  24,  1703,  was 
ordained  to  the  priesthood  by  Pastors  Rudman,  Biorck,  and 
Sand  el,  at  the  Swedish  Lutheran  Church  (Gloria  Dei)  at 
Wicacoa.  He  immediately  left  for  his  new  field  of  mission- 
ary labors  in  New  York,  East  Jersey,  and  Long  Island,  where 
he  ministered  to  the  Low-Dutch  and  Hio-h-German  Luther- 
ans  until  his  death  in  1723.  Justus  Falckner  was  the  first 
Lutheran  clergyman  who  was  ordained  in  America.  His 
"  missive"  or  report  to  Rev.  Heinrich  Muhlen,  an  influential 
church  dignitary  in  Hoi  stein,  is  not  alone  valuable  as  it  sets 
forth  the  religious  condition  of  the  Germans  within  the 
Province  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  it 
also  contains  a  plea  for  an  organ  for  the  Swedish  Church  in 
Philadelphia.  That  this  appeal  was  not  in  vain  is  shown 
from  records  still  extant,  and  which  make  mention  as  early 
as  1703  of  ''  Jonas  the  organist."  The  copy  of  this  hereto- 
fore unknown  contribution  to  the  history  of  our  Province 
was  found  in  the  library  of  the  University  at  Rostock,  Ger- 
many, where  it  is  bound  up  with  a  number  of  other  tracts. 

3 


The  Missive  of  Justus  Fahhne^^,  of  Germantown,  5 

As  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  the  original,  a  photographic 
fac-simile  of  the  pamphlet  was  made,  by  permission  of  the 
authorities,  and  is  now  in  the  collection  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania.  The  title-page  and  colophon  are 
here  reproduced. 

"IMPRrNTT  I  of  a  MISSIVE  |  TO  Tit:  Lord  D.Henr. 
Muhlen,  |  From  Germanton  in  the  AMERI  |  CAN  Prov- 
ince of  Pensylvania,  otherwise  |  New  Sweden,  the  First  of 
August,  in  the  Year  |  of  our  salvation  One  thousand,  seven 
hundred  |  and  one  |  CONCERNING  the  condition  of  the 
CHURCHES  I  in  AMERICA.  I  MDCCII." 


"SHALOM. 


"Right  Reverend,  Most  Learned,  Especially  Honored, 
"  Lord  General  Superintendent. 
"  In  sending  to  Your  Magnificence  the  present  missive 
from  such  a  distant  part  of  the  world,  I  am  moved  there- 
unto partly  by  the  recollection  of  the  high  favor  and  civility 
which  you  extended  toward  me  while  I  was  in  Schleswig 
with  you,  prior  to  my  departure  from  Holstein  to  America, 
as  you  also  were  kindly  disposed,  by  virtue  of  your  episcopal 
and  priestly  office,  to  extend  your  great  ecclesiastical  bene- 
diction, and  thereby  to  further  my  proposed  journey  to  a 
blessed  purpose ;  upon  the  other  part,  I  am  obliged  thereto 
by  the  express  commands  which  you  enjoined  upon  me  at 
sundry  times,  that  I  should  correspond  with  you  as  much  as 
possible  concerning  the  condition  of  the  church  in  America ; 
(de  statu  JEcclesice  in  America).  This  honored  command 
emanating  from  the  love  of  God,  I  will  comply  with  for  the 
good  of  his  church,  and  give  satisfaction  so  far  as  I  may : 
therefore  I  will  make  a  beginning  herewith.  Indeed  I  must 
declare  that  since  the  time  when  I  was  there  [in  Schleswig] 
I  have  now,  God  be  thanked,  arrived  safely  here.  This  was 
during  the  past  year  at  the  beginning  of  August,  after  we 
had  sailed  from  England  on  May  25.      Since  my  arrival 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2013  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://archive.org/details/ustusfOOfalc 


The  Missive  of  Justus  Falckner,  of  Germaniovm.  7 

here,  I  have  for  many  material  reasons,  lived  entirely  alone 
in  a  small  block-house,  which  I  had  built  for  me,  as  an 
eremite  in  the  desert  (m  Deserto).  Having  had  but  slight 
intercourse  with  the  people,  much  less  travelled  hither  and 
thither,  and  having  [merely]  gathered  information  from  one 
and  the  other,  so  I  do  not  know  the  particulars  of  the 
status  here  in  every  respect. 

"  But  now,  after  having  schooled  myself  a  little  in  the 
solitude,  I  begin  as  if  from  a  mirror  {tanquam  ex  speculo)  to 
take  cognizance  of  one  fact  and  the  other.  I  have  gone 
more  among  the  people,  and  subsequently  have  resolved  to 
give  up  the  solitude  I  have  thus  far  maintained,  and,  accord- 
ing to  my  humble  powers,  to  strive  at  least  with  good  inten- 
tion publicly  to  assist  in  doing  and  effecting  good  in  this 
spiritual  and  corporeal  wilderness.  So  far  as  I  am  able  to 
draw  conclusions  concerning  the  condition  of  the  churches 
in  these  parts,  and  indeed  particularly  in  this  Province,  it  is 
still  pretty  bad.  The  Aborigines  or  Indians,  from  lack  of 
sufficient  good  instruction,  remain  in  their  blindness  and 
barbarity,  and  moreover  are  angered  at  the  bad  living  of  the 
Christians,  especially  at  the  system  of  trading  which  is 
driven  with  them,  and  they  only  learn  vices  which  they  did 
not  have  formerly,  such  as  drunkenness,  stealing  &c.  The 
local  Christian  minority,  however,  is  divided  into  almost 
innumerable  sects,  which  pre-eminently  may  be  called  sects 
and  hordes,  as  Quakers,  Anabaptists,  Naturalists,  Rational- 
ists, Independents,  Sabbatarians  and  many  others,  especially 
secret  insinuating  sects,  whom  one  does  not  know  what  to 
make  of,  but  who,  nevertheless,  are  all  united  in  these 
beautiful  principles,  if  it  please  the  Gods  (si  Dis  2')lacet) :  Do 
away  with  all  good  order,  and  live  for  yourself  as  it  pleases 
you !  The  Quakers  are  the  most  numerous,  because  the 
Governor  favors  this  sect,  and  one  might  be  inclined  to  call 
this  country  a  dissecting-room  of  the  Quakers ;  for  no  matter 
how  our  theologians  labored  to  dissect  this  carcase  and  dis- 
cover its  interiors,  they  could  not  do  it  so  well  as  the 
Quakers  here  in  this  country  are  now  doing  themselves.  It 
would  easily  make  a  whole  tractate  were  I  only  to  set  forth 


The  Missive  of  Justus  Falckner,  of  Germantown,  9 

how  they,  by  transgressing  their  own  principles,  shew  in 
plain  daylight  the  kind  of  spirit  that  moves  them,  when 
they  virtually  scoff  at  the  foundation  of  such  [)rinciples,  and 
become  Ishmaels  of  all  well  regulated  church-institutions. 
Hie  HJwdus,  hie  saltant.  When  I  learn  that  my  letters  come 
safely  into  the  hands  of  Your  Magnificence,  I  will  at  another 
time  report  specialora.  The  Protestant  Church,  however,  is 
here  divided  into  three  confessions  and  nations.  According 
to  the  confession,  the  local  Protestants,  as  they  are  compre- 
hended under  this  name  in  the  European  Roman  Empire, 
are  either  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran,  or  of  the  Presby- 
terian and  Calvinistic  Church.  And  as  the  Protestant 
Church  is  here  also  divided  into  three  nations,  so  there  are 
here  an  English  Protestant  Church  and  a  Swedish  Protes- 
tant Lutheran  Church ;  and  also  persons  of  the  German 
nation  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  and  Reformed  churches. 
About  these  more  at  another  time. 

*•  IN'ow  I  will  only  speak  somewhat  of  the  Evangelical 
Church  of  the  Swedish  nation,  and  touch  upon  the  German 
Evangelical  Lutherans. 

"  The  Swedes  have  two  church  congregations :  one  at 
Philadelphia,  the  capital  of  this  country,  and  another  several 
miles  therefrom  on  a  river  called  Christina.  They  have 
also  two  devout,  learned  and  conscientious  preachers, 
among  whom  I  know  in  specie  the  Reverend  Magister  Rud- 
man.  He,  with  his  colleagues,  endeavours  to  instil  the 
true  fear  and  knowledge  of  God  into  his  hearers,  who  pre- 
viously, from  a  lack  of  good  instruction  and  church  disci- 
pline, had  become  rather  unruly.  The  outward  worship  of 
God  is  held  in  the  Swedish  language,  and  partly  according 
to  the  Swedish  liturgy,  so  far  as  church  ceremonies  are  con- 
cerned. 

"  The  Germans,  however,  I  have  spoken  of  not  without 
cause  as  merely  several  Evangelical  Lutheran  Germans, 
and  not  the  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  :  those 
who  are  destitute  of  altar  and  priest  forsooth  roam  about  in 
this  desert  (scilicet  qui  ard  Sacerdoteqiie  destituti,  vagantur  hoc 
in  deserto  :)  a  deplorable  condition  indeed.     Moreover  there 


The  Missive  of  Justis  FalcJcner,  of  Germantown,  1 1 

is  here  a  large  number  of  Germans  wlio,  however,  have 
partly  crawled  in  among  the"  different  sects  who  use  the 
English  tongue,  which  is  first  learned  by  all  who  come  here. 
A  number  are  Quakers  and  Anabaptists ;  a  portion  are  Free- 
thinkers and  assimilate  with  no  one.  They  also  allow  their 
children  to  grow  up  in  the  same  manner.  In  short  there 
are  Germans  here,  and  perhaps  the  majority,  who  despise 
God's  Word  and  all  outw^ard  good  order ;  wdio  blaspheme 
the  sacraments,  and  frightfully  and  publicly  give  scandal, 
(for  the  spirit  of  errors  and  sects  has  here  erected  for  itself 
an  asylum  :  Spiritus  enim  errorum  et  Sectarum  Asyluin  sibi  hie 
constltuit) ;  and  herein  is  the  great  blame  and  cause  of  the 
lack  of  establishment  of  an  outward  and  visible  church 
assembly.  Then  while  in  the  Theologia  naturali  omnibus 
hominibus  connata  there  is  as  it  were,  the  first  Thesis  :  religio- 
sum  quendam  cidtum  observato,  so  it  happens  that  w^hen  these 
people  come  here  and  find  no  better  outward  divine  service, 
they  rather  select  one  than  none  at  all  although  they  are 
already  Libertini ;  for  even  Libertinism  is  not  without  its 
outward  forms,  whereby  it  is  constituted  a  special  religion 
without  being  one. 

"  'Eo\Y  I  recommend  to  Your  Magnificence,  as  an  intelli- 
gent (cordaten)  German  Evangelical  theologian,  for  your 
mature  consideration  and  reflection  for  God  and  his  church's 
sake,  on  account  of  the  wretched  condition  of  the  German 
Evangelical  communities,  whether  wdth  assistance  perhaps 
from  some  exalted  hand,  some  establishment  of  an  Evan- 
gelical church  assembly  could  be  made  in  America,  since  the 
Germans  are  now  increasing  rapidly.  For  as  most  of  the 
Germans  are  addiicendi  et  reducoidi,  so  must  the  means  be 
expected  to  come  from  others;  or  I  w^ill  say  the  decoy  (Loek- 
Pfeiffe)  wherewith  w^hich  the  birds  are  to  be  allured  cannot 
and  must  not  be  expected  to  come  from  the  birds,  but  must 
be  made  by  or  for  such  as  w^ant  to  entice  them  here. 

"  Both  myself  and  my  brother,  who  is  sojourning  here, 
keep  ourselves  to  the  Swedish  church,  although  w^e  under- 
stand little  or  nothing  of  their  language.  We  have  also 
been  the  means  of  influencing  divers  Germans  by  our  ex- 


The  Missive  of  Justus  FalcTcnei\  of  Germantown.  1 3 

ample,  so  that  they  now  and  then  come  to  the  assemblies, 
even  though  they  do  not  know  the  language.  Still  they  are 
gradually  being  redeemed  from  barbarism,  and  becoming 
accustomed  to  an  orderly  outward  service. 

"  Above  all  one  of  the  Swedish  Pastors,  Magister  Rud- 
man,  has  offered,  regardless  of  the  difficulty  to  assume  the 
German  dialect  (dialectum).  For  nothing  less  than  the  love 
of  God's  honor  he  has  offered  to  go  to  this  trouble  and  now 
and  then  to  deliver  a  German  address  in  the  Swedish  church, 
until  the  Germans  can  have  a  church  of  their  own,  together 
with  the  necessary  establishment.  Accordingly  the  Ger- 
mans who  still  love  the  evangelical  truth,  and  a  proper  out- 
ward church  order,  much  prefer  to  attend  (inter esse)  the 
Swedish  churches  here  until  they  can  also  have  their  divine 
worship  in  their  own  language  as  a  people.  The  means 
are  hereby  offered  in  a  measure  to  spread  the  Gospel  truth 
in  these  wilds,  whereby  many  of  their  brethren  and  fellow- 
countrymen  may  be  brought  from  wrong  to  right,  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  whirlpool  of  sectaries  to 
the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  true  church.  Wherefore  such 
Swedish  Evangelical  churches,  for  my  humble  part,  have 
best  and  heartfelt  wishes,  and  I  seek  also  and  pray  Your 
Magnificence  to  kindly  recommend,  as  occasion  offers,  such 
churches  with  their  ministers,  to  His  Illustrious  Serene 
Highness  and  Her  Highness  his  spouse,  who  is  a  royal 
Swedish  princess,  and  also  to  contrive  that  your  interest 
may  be  earnestly  brought  to  the  notice  of  his  Serene 
Majesty  of  Sweden. 

"  I  will  here  take  occasion  to  mention  that  many  others 
besides  myself,  who  know  the  ways  of  this  land,  maintain 
that  music  would  contribute  much  towards  a  good  Christian 
service.  It  would  not  only  attract  and  civilize  the  wild 
Indian,  but  it  would  do  much  good  in  spreading  the  Gospel 
truths  among  the  sects  and  others  by  attracting  them.  In- 
strumental music  is  especially  serviceable  here.  Thus  a 
well-sounding  organ  would  perhaps  prove  of  great  profit, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  the  Indians  would  come  run- 
ning from  far  and  near  to  listen  to  such  unknown  melody, 


The  Missive  of  Justus  FalckneVy  of  Gei^mantown.  15 

and  upon  that  account  might  become  willing  to  accept  our 
language  and  teaching,  and  remain  with  people  who  had 
such  agreeable  things  ;  for  they  are  said  to  come  ever  so  far 
to  listen  to  one  who  plays  even  upon  a  reed-pipe  {rohr- 
pfeiffe) :  such  an  extraordinary  love  have  they  for  any  melodi- 
ous and  ringing  sound.  ^o\v  as  the  melancholy,  Saturnine 
stingy  Quaker  spirit  has  abolished  {relegirct)  all  such  music, 
it  would  indeed  be  a  novelty  here,  and  tend  to  attract  many 
of  the  young  people  away  from  the  Quakers  and  sects  to 
attend  services  where  such  music  was  found,  even  against 
the  wishes  of  their  parents.  This  would  afford  a  good 
opportunity  to  show  them  the  truth  and  their  error. 

"If  such  an  organ-instrument  (Orgel-iverck)  were  placed 
in  the  Swedish  church,  (for  the  Germans  as  yet  have  no 
church,  and  the  Swedish  church  is  of  a  high  build  and 
resonant  structure)  it  would  prove  of  great  service  to  this 
church.  As  the  majority  of  the  Swedes  are  young  people, 
and  mostly  live  scattered  in  the  forest,  far  from  the  churches, 
and  as  we  by  nature  are  all  inclined  to  good,  and  above  all 
to  what  may  serve  our  souls,  such  as  the  Word  of  God 
which  is  dead  and  gone,  so  are  especially  the  youth ;  and  it 
is  so  with  the  Swedish  youth  now  under  consideration. 
When  they  have  performed  heavy  labor  for  the  whole  week, 
as  is  customary  here,  they  would  sooner  rest  on  a  Sunday, 
and  seek  some  pleasure,  rather  than  perhaps  go  several 
miles  to  listen  to  a  sermon.  But  if  there  were  such  music 
there,  they  would  consider  church-going  as  a  recreation  for 
their  senses. 

"  Thus  does  Luther  of  blessed  memory  in  one  place 
highly  recommend  the  use  of  the  organ  and  sacred  music 
for  this  very  reason,  that  it  is  serviceable,  and  induces  young 
and  simple  and,  says  he  foolish  folk,  to  listen  unto  and  re- 
ceive God's  Word.  It  would  also  prove  an  agreeable  thing 
for  God,  angels  and  men ;  if  in  this  solitude  and  wilderness, 
which  as  it  were  struggles  under  so  many  Secula,  the  Lord 
of  Hosts,  with  whom  there  is  fulness  of  joy  and  at  whose 
right  hand  there  are  pleasures  for  evermore,  would  be 
praised  and  honored  with  cymbal  and  organ,  as  he  hath 


The  Missive  of  Justus  Falckner,  of  Germantown.  17 

commanded.  And  it  may  be  assumed  that  even  a  small 
organ-instrument  and  music  in  this  place  would  be  accepta- 
ble to  God,  and  prove  far  more  useful  than  many  hundreds 
in  Europe,  where  there  is  already  a  superfluity  of  such 
things;  and  the  more  common  they  are,  the  more  they  are 
misused. 

"  If  now  Your  Magnificence  were  kindly  to  intercede 
with  his  Serene  Highness  and  Her  Highness  his  Consort, 
and  also  with  such  other  exalted  personages  with  whom 
you  are  held  in  high  esteem,  and  present  to  them  the  benefit 
to  be  hoped  for ;  I  doubt  not,  but  that  something  could  be 
efiected.  There  are  in  Europe  masters  enough  who  build 
such  instruments,  and  a  fine  one  can  be  secured  for  300  or 
400  thalers.  Then  if  an  experienced  organist  and  musician 
could  be  found,  and  a  curious  one  who  would  undertake  so 
far  a  journey,  he  would  be  very  welcome  here.  In  case  this 
could  not  be,  if  we  only  had  an  organ,  some  one  or  other 
might  be  found  here  who  had  knowledge  thereof. 

"  Finally  if  Your  Magnificence  would  be  highly  disposed 
to  answer,  I  believe  the  best  address  for  the  letter  would  be 
in  care  of  the  Swedish  Eesident  in  London,  through  whom 
also  the  present  letter  is  addressed.  Or  perhaps  you  are 
aware  of  some  better  opportunity. 

"In  conclusion  I  now  commend  YOUR  MAGNIFI- 
CEl^CE  to  the  protection  and  grace  of  God  to  all  prosperity, 
and  remain 

"  to  YOUR  MAGNIFICENCE 

"  GERMANTON  in  the  American 
Province  of  Peusylvania,  otherwise  New 
Sweden,  the  1st.  of  August  in  the  year 
of  our  Salvation  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  one. 

"  For  Prayer  and  service 
"  most  devoted, 

''Justus  Falckner." 


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Julius  FakkiKr. 


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